


Finding A Friend For The End Of The World And After

by Velocity_Owl87



Series: Loup!Verse [15]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Future, Childbirth, Domestic, Families of Choice, M/M, Mpreg, Original Character(s), Pack Family, Past Abuse, Slice of Life, Werecats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-26
Updated: 2013-02-26
Packaged: 2017-12-03 16:39:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/700431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Velocity_Owl87/pseuds/Velocity_Owl87
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world ended as Matt knew it. A Feline, he thinks he's going to live the rest of his life alone until he literally stumbles on Michal Neuvirth, another Feline and one who has a proposition that wouldn't have them alone and hopeless in a strange new world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finding A Friend For The End Of The World And After

**Author's Note:**

> A Sideways fic in the Loup Verse that came as a challenge/plot outline from a friend. You know who you are. Title is a play on "Seeking a Friend For the End of the World" since this is slightly after that happens in this universe.

The first thought that always came to Matt in the morning when he walked to the porch of the cabin he was hiding in was that it was always fucking cold in the Colorado mountains. Even after everything had happened, he was still more or less fighting the elements. It sucked. 

The second thought was that he really needed to stop building himself up for the days to be different. They had been the same for the last couple of months. Or maybe half a year. He wasn't always diligent and he was sure he had missed some days when it got to be too much and he had to shift lest it all crush his sanity. 

He didn't want to think about it and although the loneliness was harsh at times, he was glad that he had no one to prod the wound over. He was positive that it would be the only thing that they would shred over and over again. Well, until he went off into the woods and hunted in his other form. 

That, had been the only tarnished lining in his new lifestyle: He didn't have to explain the reflective glare of his eyes. Or why he ended up so irritable when the moon waned. Or why he had to disappear into the woods and give into the demands of his animal self. 

He was lucky that the game still remained plentiful and he was no slouch at fishing or hunting in either of his forms. It was only once in awhile that he went down to the less affected parts of the state to barter and trade the skins and extras for goods he couldn't attain himself. His neighbours were more scarred than he was, and it was simply all business between them. 

Sometimes, when he would take his stash home, he debated the merit of maybe forming a relationship with some of them. He was still young and there were pretty girls looking at him from under their lashes whenever they had a few moments alone. Moments which had turned rare in the present days. The men guarded their women jealously and Matt would have laughed at the sheer throwback of the situation if he hadn't heard snatches of the stories. 

It never failed that someone would have to fuck it up, he had mused afterwards. So he didn't pursue the situation. Especially not when he knew that the only time he'd get to be so close to someone was if he were to give up his freedom to indulge his heritage. So he made do with memories and the occasional session with his hand. 

He would have liked to have the camaraderie back that he had shared with his team-mates, but that had been long gone. He was sure that they were scattered far and wide now and he had slowly resigned himself to never seeing them or any of the guys from the other teams again. He was positive that Landy and Varly and some of the Canadians were in their respective hometowns. Maybe some of them were shifters like him and living on the outskirts. Maybe one day he'd come across some of them. Maybe. 

He didn't cling to that hope as much as the other that things would be quickly fixed and life would be back to normal. 

Matt knew it was wishful thinking. But he clung to that belief fiercely. He was still not full grown and jaded yet. He could still have his indulgences sometimes. 

~*~*~*~

Michal smelled them before he had even heard them and without thinking, had already scrambled up the tree to watch them pass. 

He still had the bruising and half healed cuts of his last encounter with them and wasn't keen to find out their motives. He had lost a chunk of his tail and it had affected his balance something awful until he had learned to compensate. He had also needed to flee Hershey after that. 

Word had spread about his appearance. He couldn't revert and had accepted he would be this hybrid for the rest of whatever life he had left. A life that he often wondered on the length of.

He was the only one of his kind, as far as he knew. He was also stuck in a half-shifted form he, for the life of him, couldn't shift out of within the moon cycle or out of it. At least he could hide the ears and tail with clothing. The claws and eyes were a different matter altogether. They had been the reason that he avoided any other contact with anyone else and forced him to strike out on his own. 

He had picked a direction and gone with it, sticking to the backwoods and their roads and only trading when he needed clothes. He could hunt very well for himself and didn't want any other goods.

He wondered, as he watched them pass, his mutilated tail waving back and forth restlessly, if he would have been as maligned in his country. If he had only had the foresight to flee when the signs had been there...would he still have the same innocence and faith in the rest of the world?

He wanted to think so, but he would be lying to himself and he knew that all too well. People always got superstitious. He was sure that his countrymen would have outright killed him after capturing him after seeing what he was. 

Michal let out a sigh of relief when the small caravan of humans passed by him without even taking notice of his presence. Townspeople, then. He mused as he forced himself to remain in his hiding spot and wait for them to finally fade from sight before climbing down. It wasted daylight hours, but it paid to be on the cautious side. He didn't have more of a tail to spare. 

Giving vent to a slight purr, he struck out in the direction of the mountains. It was far from what he wanted in a home and was used to. He had been a city kid all his life. But it was safety and the promise of always having game that drew him there. It would have been perfect if his litter mates had been with him. 

He shook his head, his tail swishing impatiently behind him. No sense in mourning what couldn't be changed. This was his life, that was the end of it. 

He forcefully pushed all those feelings down roughly before he shifted smoothly into his feline form (something that he still hadn't figured out how he could do, yet didn't question) and bounded towards the mountains. His mind full to bursting of the game that he would hunt.

~*~*~*~*

Matt stood on the porch of his cabin, drinking his coffee and feeling a vague sense of excitement like he did before big game came through. He could feel the thrill of the hunt humming down his veins as he thought about the meat that would be packed away in his cellar. He wasn't exactly scraping by, but it was always good to stock up. He had learned that much in his mountain tenure. 

He took one last sip of coffee before throwing the bitter dregs out in the grass. Maybe if he got enough meat, he could get more powdered milk. The coffee was getting too bitter to drink otherwise.

He washed up the kitchen and made a mental note to get more water from the well that had been dug on the property before he had even arrived there and went to put his trousers away. He wasn't going to hunt as a human today. He needed the release of his second form desperately. The moon's cycles weren't enough to release that energy and he had known from bitter experience that he had to get it out before he turned it on the cottage or worse, himself. 

It was just a few minutes later that had him bounding outside, muscles bunching and working as he took off into the deepest part of the forests. It was time to hunt. 

~*~*~*~

Michal was lying on his back in the copse near the waterfall, trying to not fall apart. His hind leg was still puffy and caked with blood and he couldn't limp away fast enough to defend himself if the need arose.

And the need always arose. It was just one of those laws that had been all too prevalent ever since it had all gone to hell. 

On top of that, his entire body was wracked with feverish shakes and tremors. It was a clusterfuck of a situation that he was injured. But it was an even more perfect one when his heat hit him at full on force. A heat that he shouldn't have even had this season. He had just had one in the fall. He wasn't due for another one until summer. 

He tried to keep going when everything melted into a complete and utter bollocks, but the farthest he could get was the copse. At least he was near water. The rest...Well, he was going to be on his own and he only hoped he would survive this heat. He barely made it through his other ones and that was when he still had access to medicine, comforts and a partner with the same goals to make it tolerable. 

Maybe once he was in the throes of it, if a predator found him, he would be grateful to get ripped open, since the alternative wasn't going to be pretty. Not when he was unmated and already too close to being in bare-bones survival mode; despite the good hunting that he had been having lately. It wasn't a huge haul, but it kept the wiry muscles on his frame from wasting away and giving him the chance to find a more suitable location for a home. 

But now, the heat and injury were ruining it and Michal was sure that he was going to wither away in a half-hidden corner of the mountains. The last heat had been horrible and he got the feeling he was being punished by his own nature with a painful and more intense than usual heat. Even the bleeding had been worse and it was all he could have done to keep clean. No. The odds of him surviving were getting slimmer and slimmer. 

Michal closed his eyes and let out a pain-filled yowl. The downside was that despite feeling like he was dying, he still was putting out pheromones and needing to be mounted. It was a sick quirk of biology, that was for certain and he again wordlessly cursed the luck of the draw. 

But there was nothing to be done. At least not any longer. 

He groaned and blinked his eyes. 

He was in his human hybrid form again.

Closing his eyes, he waited for the second stage to begin. 

~*~*~*~*

Matt had expected to only be filling his larder for the upcoming weather and nothing more and that was what he thought he was getting as he bounded through the forest. He still had that twinging feeling of something not being quite right, but he pushed it away, since he knew the area fairly well and he would have for sure noticed if any one else, human or shape shifter had decided to make an appearance. 

He knew he had been wrong to second guess himself when it hit him sometime in the middle of his hunt. 

The unmistakeable scent of fudge sweetness along with the sharpness of not quite citrus caught his attention and made him forget his goals. Instead, he turned and followed the scent, his mind fumbling to place the scent and why it was imperative that he find out what it was. He had never scented it before and was actually torn between being prudent and following his instincts, but his animal side won out and he found himself practically stumbling to get to the source. 

So intent was he that he nearly missed what was emitting the scent. He had to double back to a copse by the river, a place he had often gone to fish when he saw him.

Slight, too tall and with a leanness that spoke of both nature and hard living. Dark hair. A tail? He got closer and took in the claws, tail and ears. Both the tail and ears were flickering sporadically, as if he had no strength left to actually force them to move beyond those feeble gestures. 

He got closer and had to suppress a small chirp of surprise. Both at the sight of who it was and at the sudden realization that he had just reverted to human form without noticing. 

Michal Neuvirth was who he was scenting and who his body was reacting to. 

Michal Neuvirth, whom he had always assumed was a loup, since it felt like the roster of the Capitals were almost all loups. A soft whine of sympathy left his lips as he got closer. He knew how hard it was with the few that he had to contend with. But to have so many to hide from? Especially with how much power they all had? It would have been near impossible. 

He sympathized, but his body was reacting to the scent and the nearness of another feline in the vicinity, much to his embarrassment. He had been taught what could happen by his mother, but it had been in one of those rare scenarios, kind of conversations. 

Unlike Loups, that had their shape shifting abilities inherently tied to the males, Felines came in both genders and usually almost never ended exclusively in a shifter relationship. His father was human and fully aware that some of his family were shifters, but it hadn't ever bothered him. He loved them too much to care and Matt had always been grateful for that easy tolerance. 

He had wanted to end up with someone that would have been so open-minded and understanding for a mate...But that had all gone down the drain. Just like everything else had after the world had completely imploded. 

Matt shook his head to at least get his head on as straight as he possibly could, since his . That was neither here or there. What he needed to focus on was Michal and whether he would be able to hold himself back from mating him and whether he really wanted to tie himself to Michal and vice versa. He knew that it was a very grey area, what he was about to do. Even if Michal was needing to be mated and would respond favourably, the aftermath was going to be even trickier to deal with than the end of the world as he knew it. 

They didn't know each other apart from the league. Geography and language had made it so, but that distance was going to be breached by chance and biology. 

He could walk away. As painful as it would be for him, he could do it and save himself the conflict he was feeling about being there and possibly destroying the connection he had with what could be the last of his kind he would ever see in his lifetime. 

But that would mean leaving Michal to be consumed not just by his heat, but also by the elements and other predators. The other feline's leg was a mess, and Matt wasn't that cruel that he would knowingly leave someone out to die. That was what was going to happen, without a doubt. 

Michal stirred again, this time sighing heavily and parting his cracked and bloody lips, making them bleed sluggishly and making Matt wonder how long Michal had been out there exactly and how much time he had left. He tried to stop that train of thought, but not fast enough. He wasn't meant to care. Wasn't supposed to, but when he found himself moving towards the almost unconscious feline he knew the game was up.

~*~*~*~

When Michal came to next, his mind was clearer than it had been in ages. His skin too, didn't feel like it was itching and prickling to be peeled off of his bones and he didn't feel as empty and yearning as he had in the beginning. He licked his lips and started at the waxy taste of rose balm that someone had smeared on him. 

His eyes flew open at that. It wasn't just someone that had done it, since he would have felt it and it would have been agony for him if that had been the case. No, it had been an Alpha. Even an Omega's touch would have left impressions on him. It had to be one. Otherwise, he would still have been in the copse by the river. And this was certainly not that.

He checked out his surroundings and was met by the sight of raw wood, salvaged furniture and old bedding on a decent bed. He touched it and shivered at the soft texture under his hand. Whoever took him in must have known that anything else would have been as abrasive as wool and had taken pains to make him comfortable. 

He lifted the covers on an impulse and saw that his injured leg had been tended to. He flexed it and was rewarded with a dull ache that told him it would take awhile for him to be back in top shape to be out and hunting. The thought though, was distasteful, now that he was sheltered, cared for and with an Alpha nearby. He was also naked, but then his old clothes were nothing but rags and he didn't really care that they were gone that much. He was sure he would be getting something from his mysterious benefactor sometime soon. 

He let the covers drop and turned his head to sniff at the covers that smelled like sunshine, soap and feline. Michal's eyebrows raised almost to his hairline as the familiar scent hit him. He rolled over and buried his face in the fabric, inhaling it deeply while squeezing his eyes shut and trying desperately to not let the choking sobs overwhelm him as the sudden rush of nostalgia that the scent brought him. He missed his family, his brothers, his city and it hurt to remember that he wasn't ever going to see them again. They were separated by an ocean at best. At worst, death. 

He thought he had dealt with it. After all, when it all had gone to hell, he had kept it together. Even when he had been hunted and wounded, he hadn't thought about the losses. Only survival had been on his mind. He had done well until the injury and the heat and scenting the covers had brought it all back. He grit his teeth and forced himself to breathe deeply and clear his mind until his body had stopped shaking. 

Once that had been done, he raised his head and found himself staring directly into the shadowed blue eyes of someone he had a nagging feeling he should have been familiar with, but couldn't place. Especially not with the angular planes of the face and the scruffy beard that hid most of his features. His hair was long and tied back and his expression was blank as he stared back at Michal. 

The scent was strong as it came from him, nearly making Michal roll over and show his belly. This was the Alpha and this was his saviour and if it all went well, he'd be having a litter and-

He sat up and hissed at the pain shooting up his leg. A litter? He didn't examine where the thought had come from too deeply. He was afraid if he did, he'd just go along with the biological imperative and let himself be tied to a virtual stranger. Although something about the mouth was familiar...yet he couldn't place why. It was someone he had played against, he knew that much. 

But where? So many of the memories of life before were slipping too quickly from his memory and the heat now flaring up and clouding his thoughts again. 

He shook his head and rubbed his eyes hard in an effort to make the other feline's name to show up in his mind, but all he was drawing was a big blank. The only clues were the house nestled in the mountains, which told him that he made it farther than he had believed he had. The house looked lived in and if he remembered geography from the teams they had to play, he would guess they were somewhere father than St. Louis, but not far enough to hit the other ocean. 

Somewhere in the middle. Not Minnesota. 

His thoughts might have been clear on his face, because the other Feline snorted in laughter and shook his head before coming over to the bed, standing close enough to talk, but not enough to be threatening. 

“You have absolutely no idea who I am, do you?”

“Other than being an Alpha?” Michal asked, his voice rough and raspy with disuse and distorted by the fangs that never quite went away. 

“Yeah, other than that. Do you even know where you are?”

Michal licked his lips and made a face as he tasted the balm and shook his head. 

“I thought so. First things first: You're in the Rockies in Colorado. I'm Matt Duchene. Dutchy. But uhm...just call me Matt. It's just ehm...yeah. Matt.”

There was a story there, Michal sensed by the way that the name was repeated, as if Matt was trying it out to make sure that it was the right fit after all. It didn't stop him from clicking on the first one right away though. 

Michal's eyes widened at the name. One of the kids that was supposed to save the Avs. Just like he had been expected to for the Caps. Yeah, Michal remembered him and he had to admit that Matt was more his name now than Matt Duchene or the childish nickname could have been. That person had gone long before. 

“I'm Michal Neuvirth. Michal. But I'm guessing you knew that.”

He didn't refer to himself as Neuvy. It was just too childish and too out of place and put him in a weaker position rather than the one of equality he was aiming for. 

Matt nodded and took a step back, crossing his arms in front of him as he looked down at the other feline. 

“Yeah. You look too much like what you are to not notice. Even without being morphed...you always looked like a cat. Explains why you were so damned good in net. Now that I know, it's too obvious.”

Michal flushed, but he couldn't deny that the “Kitty Goalie” nickname was out there. He wasn't that ignorant that he didn't know that was what he got called. Especially by the female fans. He had to put up with a lot of teasing over that one. 

“It happens sometimes. In my litter.” He muttered slightly defensively, his ears flattening down as he spoke. Matt raised his hands at that. 

“I'm not trying to pick a fight. Not when you're the first other player I've seen. And the only other feline apart from my pack. I mean, I should have guessed that you were...but I'd been wrong before and it's not like we're loups or anything...”

Michal flushed and his ears flattened even more against his skull.

“I just...look...I know you're not just here to talk about that. You can scent me. I know that's part of the reason why I'm not dying of exposure out there.” Here, he paused and looked at Matt, who was watching him sharply as he waited for him to continue. 

“You're an Alpha. I'm an Omega. A bit battered, but I'm one. It's fairly obvious what we're supposed to be doing and I know what it would mean. All of it. We don't know each other outside of who we used to be. That world is gone now. We're away from our packs. I know I'm being blunt and to the point, but-”

Matt was already kissing him, rough and animalistic and Michal was sure that he felt fangs at some point. 

He stopped thinking as he lost himself in the kiss, which was both demanding and possessive at the same time. It had been too long since he had been touched with such fervour and such desire and it banished the phantom feel of touches meant to destroy and tear him apart.

He gasped when the kiss was broken off and all thoughts were replaced by sensations when Matt trailed wet kisses down to his neck.

~*~*~*~*~

He didn't put up a fight when Matt pushed him down and pressed him into the soft bedding, his mouth making a wet trail from Michal's mouth down to his collar bone until he reached the juncture of his neck and shoulder. Matt growled softly when he tasted the skin. It was too sweet, too soft, and almost over-ripe; signalling that bonding needed to be done yesterday. 

Michal mewled and tried to pull away, the touch being almost too much for him to take, the heat having risen sharply the moment that Matt had kissed him. He only got as far as managing to push him away slightly when Matt bit down on the gland, making him freeze and turn completely pliant as his body was flooded with endorphins and hormones. 

Michal let out a soft moan and without prompting, opened his legs wide. A gesture that Matt growled his approval of as his hand quickly found its way in between their bodies to touch Michal. He wasn't naive enough to think that the other feline hadn't had experience with someone before, but he also wasn't going to be unnecessarily rough with someone if he didn't have to be. 

Matt knew that it was strictly a biological imperative and a somewhat mercenary arrangement. They were the last of their kind. They could provide the pack structure for each other that they both ached for. They could provide companionship and maybe even have a litter together. 

But it didn't meant that it couldn't be done without some affection on his part. Maybe they could have something more than just a business arrangement...Michal's moans pulled him out of his musings and he focused on giving pleasure to his future mate instead. 

~*~*~*~

It wasn't like it had been before, Michal could tell that from the start, when Matt took his time preparing him and when he finally entered. It was sharper and sweeter and with more loss of control on his part. He was glad that they all healed well, since he couldn't help but to mark Matt's back, encouraging him to thrust harder, deeper, faster. Michal had no limits, everything was increased. Everything needed to be ten times as intense, or else it wouldn't be enough. 

He moaned and yowled whenever Matt hit his sweet spot, his muscles clenching around his mate and making him pause for breath before he continued. Michal tried to not mewl or be impatient about the situation, but he still wasn't done. 

He hadn't had a full breeding heat ever, but even without prior knowledge, he could tell that it was far from over. 

Matt grunted as he buried himself deep into Michal and kissed him, his tongue licking up the stray drops of perspiration at Michal's temples as he did so. Michal made a small noise of protest that was soon forgotten when Matt started moving again, varying his rhythm from slow deep thrusts to quick shallow ones. He panted and moaned when Matt rocked his hips in a circular motion, making Michal's eyes roll in his head as the feeling of Matt hitting all his spots at once short-circuited his brain.

He was glad that they were silent. He didn't think he would be able to enjoy their mating and bonding as much as he did if it had been punctuated by conversation. He also liked that Matt tried to be affectionate with him, the kisses and licks being a perfect contrast to the roughness of his thrusts and the grip of his hands on Michal's hips. The fullness of him inside and the contentment of completion were his in a way that was all he could register and think of. It was perfect and Michal now understood why he couldn't ever fully be satisfied with a human or a beta feline when he could find them. None of them made his body react like it did when he was with his Alpha and he knew then, why it was always so unfulfilling and why his heats were to be dreaded, rather than embraced.

Neither of them lasted long after that, the push and pull of Matt's rhythm being too much for both of them to not find release. Matt came first, his body stuttering to a stop and then stilling as he gave out a series of yowls before he exploded inside Michal in what felt like a never ending torrent of cum. He fell on top of Michal, his last thrust triggering Michal's own orgasm and leaving him blinded and over heated at the same time. 

They were sticky with sweat and cum and even though Michal had come twice already, the burning under his skin wouldn't abate so easily. Matt had filled him, over and over again, but it wasn't enough. Michal's body demanded that it continue, over and over and over until they both lay panting and then fell into a blackout of exhaustion. 

~*~*~*~*

Michal knew that their mating had taken the morning he woke up and like a bad cliche, ran to the outhouse to throw up everything that he had eaten the night before. He hadn't been sure that it had happened, even when his scent changed. This though, this was the clincher.

Michal shook his head and wiped his mouth, getting only a small reprieve before his stomach decided to bring up more vomit. 

Once he was done, he wiped his mouth and went to the pump to clean up. He should have known that it had happened. He had already gotten enough warning signs that it had taken place. His heat had gone faster than any before and he was getting softer in the front, a development he had chalked up to eating regularly and being without threats for the first time since the world had changed. He hadn't really connected the two until now and he cursed himself for being so slow on the uptake.

He shook the water out of his hair and made a small noise of disgust as he headed towards the house, only to stop short when he saw Matt standing on the porch with two mugs in his hands.

“Morning. You alright Michal?” Matt asked, giving him the second mug. 

Michal hummed and took the second mug, relieved to have some caffeine to wash away the memory of his sickness and the realization that he was carrying Matt's litter. A development that he was still in shock about, if he was honest.

Although they had fallen into a routine right after they had consummated their bond, with alternating the hunting and the chores...Michal still felt slightly uneasy at being around Matt. Although he was warm and treated him with civility and kindness, he still hadn't lost the skittishness and wariness that had become second nature after he had been attacked in Hershey. Logically, he knew that Matt meant him absolutely no harm, but his hindbrain wasn't completely convinced and he was beginning to doubt that it ever would be.

All these thoughts swirled through his head as he took a sip and promptly spat out the warm Ovaltine onto the ground and looked at Matt with wide eyes.

“I'm not that oblivious, despite being that much younger.” Matt told him as he came closer and put his arm gingerly around Michal's thin shoulders. He looked at Michal after he did it, unsure if his gesture was welcome, but Michal only moved closer and he swore he felt Matt relax once he did so.

Michal shook his head and took another sip of the mug, savouring the taste of the malty drink.

“You're better than me. I didn't notice it until this morning.” Michal replied once he took a drink of the Ovaltine and drank it down, desperate to have something in his stomach now that Matt knew of the impending litter. 

“I was wondering how long it would take you. But at least you know now.” Matt replied, taking a drink of his own coffee. Michal scowled at Matt's coffee mug, but manfully refrained from snatching it from his Alpha and drinking it down, since his body was crying desperately from the caffeine withdrawal. Matt saw his reaction and gave him an apologetic smile.

“You won't be going hunting after this.” Matt added, making Michal ears flatten against his head and want to argue against Matt's words, but he kept on speaking after that slight pause.

“There are people coming in further now. I can pass. You won't. I don't want to chance anything happen. Not when you're carrying our litter.”

Michal's ears swivelled towards him at that and his words dried up in his throat. He couldn't argue against that. Not when he was fully aware that he needed to keep both himself and his litter safe.

After all, that was the reason why they had agreed to the partnership in the first place.

“You're right. It would be an unnecessary risk.”

Michal felt his stomach clench at the sudden feeling of a cage being locked behind him. He knew that it could have been a possibility. That once he ended up breeding, he would be tethered to the cabin. If Matt said that was what to be, it was going to be. Matt was an Alpha and even if he didn't want to give in, the instinct would force him to recapitulate and do so. 

Matt nodded and finished off the last of his coffee before turning to look at Michal. 

“When they clear out, I'll let you know so you don't always have to be tethered to the cabin.”

Michal blinked and nodded, his stomach unclenching at the unexpected rejoinder. 

“Allright. Thanks.”

He made it sound casual, as if he hadn't even considered it, but the answering squeeze that Matt gave him made Michal realize that he again, wasn't as subtle as he had always thought. 

~*~*~*~

The winter came hard after that. The humans stopped coming up and Michal had the freedom of the mountain, hunting and running to his heart's content after being trapped for a very long autumn. Matt had been true to his promise and had let him be, doing his own hunting farther and farther away, respecting Michal's need for freedom and space. A need that had been so necessary for the omega that he had almost become vicious with it, snarling at Matt when he got too close. 

Matt had gotten the hint and had left him to his own devices, leaving early and coming late and giving Michal the impression that he was alone in the cabin. 

Matt didn't know what that was all about, but he hoped that it wouldn't last much longer. The winters were long and he was missing having the chance to sit in front of the fire and relax in the cabin that had been his home for months before Michal showed up. But he had tied himself to Michal in exchange for companionship and the possibility of a litter, so he had to suck it up and hope that this stage of breeding would pass soon.

It was dark and if it hadn't been for his feline instincts, Matt wouldn't have been able to quietly move around the cabin. Michal was deeply asleep, cocooned in the quilts and furs that he had tanned in the previous autumn in preparation for the litter. Matt didn't want to bother him and moved quietly as he fixed himself up some cereal and a cup of coffee to start the day. He was planning to go fishing and spend the day lost in the stillness that fishing would get him as well as a supply of fresh fish to counteract the dried meat they had been relying on since the larger game had moved on. 

He had just put the coffee pot on the cast iron stove to boil when he heard the covers being thrown back. He turned his head and saw Michal climbing out of the bed, the lightest quilt wrapped around him as he shuffled slowly to the table and sat down, his eyes heavy-lidded with sleep and his hair sticking up at odd angles and nearly hiding the stubs of his ears. His tail waved a few times, but that was it. No actual flickering to show annoyance of any kind. 

He blinked at nothing for several minutes until he finally noticed Matt making coffee and cereal in the area that served as a kitchen and pantry. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, letting the quilt fall open to reveal a round bump that looked at odds with his thin frame. He looked up and held Matt's gaze, which had strayed to Michal's belly and then back up to Michal's eyes again.

“You're up too early.” 

Matt shrugged and found it safer to turn his attention to the oatmeal he had boiling in the pot. This had been the longest conversation they had had since autumn had passed and Michal had snapped at him in his peevishness to be set free from the confines of the cabin and he didn't want to take any false steps and break the tenuous neutrality that had been built up since.

“I didn't want to wake you up. Not when I was going to the lake.” 

Michal hummed at that and shuffled to the cupboards, pulling out the powdered milk tin and the water jug before turning to Matt. 

“Can you postpone the trip?” 

Matt looked up from the stove, his surprise clear on his face at the words. Michal though, wouldn't look at him, his attention all taken up by the task of mixing the powder and the water together. 

“I'd rather you didn't leave anymore. Not when it's not necessary.”

Matt grunted in response and stirred the oatmeal before he actually gave Michal a reply. Although his mate's words were striving for flat, he could read between the lines. 

The animosity had passed and Michal's pack instincts had come back full force. He needed Matt to be near now and to share the space with the sire of his litter. He was done being aloof and he wanted the dynamics back to normal as they had been for that brief time after they had mated. 

“It's not necessary. Not for awhile at least.”

He took the oatmeal off the stove and set it on the wooden counter in time to see Michal smile.

“So you want some oatmeal then?”

~*~*~*~*~

It happened in the middle of the night, right after Michal had curled up against Matt and wordlessly demanded to share both his personal space and body heat. Matt had been shocked, but had complied. The moon had begun to wane and the old need for a pack was starting to come back in full force. He wasn't going to deny either of them the small comforts of touch that would easily dispel that need. 

He also wasn't going to deny that he wanted to get closer to Michal than they had been. After that morning, the cool neutrality had gone and Matt had stopped putting up his guard against Michal. So it had been a natural progression that had had them both reaching out to each other for tactile comfort.

Matt was just falling asleep again when Michal yowled and sat up. Matt's mind was still muzzy with sleep, not connecting what had made Michal react so strongly until the scent of blood and a fluid he couldn't place hit him smack in the nose. It was heavy and musky and unpleasant enough to get him out of the bed and up to light the candles he had scattered around the room.

The light revealed Michal kneeling on the bed, his hands gripping the headboard and his head bowed as contractions juddered through his frame. Blood streaked his thighs and the over-sized shirt he was wearing was sticking to his body. It was time. The litter was coming and Matt realized that he really didn't have any fucking clue as to how to help with the birth. 

Michal though, just _knew._ He barked out instructions for cloths and hot water and for scissors in between bouts of swearing and muttering in Czech. 

Matt did as he was told and also made tea, making sure to keep an eye on Michal in case he needed to intervene while wondering how his father had done it. He wanted to take the pain away from Michal and speed up the birth somehow. He wanted for it to end and for the litter to be there yesterday. He waited and paced and watched and cursed the situation, since he couldn't do anything to alleviate the stress and pain that Michal was going through. 

He made sure to get Michal to drink some water or some tea and helped him to walk around the cabin and reassured him when it was getting to be too much. He even got him outside to get some fresh air until the contractions came back full force and Michal had to crawl back onto the bed and push again, his cries becoming louder and louder until they were eclipsed by the howls of their first kit, who came into the world in a rush of fluid and loud squawks of indignation.

The kit's cries were added to by his sibling, who was born only moments after Matt had picked up the first one to clean him off. 

“What are they?” Michal panted, his eyes bright as he lay back. His face was red and greasy and he was panting with the effort, but there was a huge smile on his face as he watched Matt clean up the kits, who had stopped crying now that they were being cleaned and wrapped up in soft towels that Matt had found somewhere for the occasion.

“Boys, the both of them.” Matt replied softly as he handed the oldest over to Michal, who accepted his first-born in silence before murmuring to him in soft Czech as he studied the child, who had Matt's striking eyes and the beginning of Michal's striking feline features. 

Matt did the same with the second kit and was surprised and jolted to see Michal's hazy grey eyes staring back at him from a face that looked like what he remembered from his baby photos. 

His throat tightened up at the sight and he had to sit down as the emotions overwhelmed him. This was his son. His and Michal's. The start of their new pack and his heart felt like it was going to break at the sight of this kit sleepily staring up at him. 

“Hey guy.” He greeted his son, running a finger down his soft face and tracing the outline of the small mouth that opened and closed as Matt ran his finger across his cheek and down to his chest, where his heart beat thudded against his fingertips.

“I'm your sire and when you get bigger, we'll go fishing with your brother and your mom. I know a really good place in the mountains and I'm sure you're going to love it.”

His son yawned in response and Michal laughed softly, making Matt look up. 

“I'm sure we all will, isn't that right, _ma laska?”_

Michal murmured to the kit he held, yet his eyes were on Matt.

Matt, who again felt his throat tighten at the sight and the sound of the words. He didn't understand Czech and Michal had tried to teach him some words, but not too many had stuck.

Except for those ones. 

Matt swallowed hard and nodded.

“You will. Trust me.”

Michal smiled in response and Matt finally felt the cold greyness that had settled in him ever since his old life had gone, finally lift from his heart.

They weren't fully there just yet, but the surety of the pack being completed was there and that was good enough for him.

END.

 

 


End file.
